grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Spring Planting!

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spring planting

I love driving across Arkansas during spring. In the Ozarks, redbuds and dogwoods compete for attention, and roadsides are exploding with wildflowers. Spring planting is in full swing as farmers and gardeners put seeds in the ground. It’s no secret that harvest is my favorite time of year, but after a slow cold winter, spring planting is cause for celebration. Not that there’s time for a party.

Party in the field, maybe.

Of course, without spring planting, there would be no fall harvest. And timing is key. With spring comes wild weather bringing storms and hail, tornadoes, dust storms, a chance of frost? Rain, rain go away until we need another shower.

The soil is rich and wide awake, the fields leveled and hipped. The state is humming.

Here are a few spring planting pics from across Arkansas…Continue Reading

Gracie Lee’s Spaceship Squash

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Gracie Lee and the Spaceship SquashWhen Gracie Lee’s Momma let the girls buy seed packets at Savage Crossing Hardware, Gracie Lee chose spaceship squash for obvious reasons—the squash looked like a flying saucer and flying saucers were intriguing. The variety was really called patty pan squash. The odd name caught her attention too.

Spaceship (Patty Pan) squash

Patty pan squash is a “bush” squash meaning is doesn’t vine like other squash varieties, but grows in more of a bush shape. I’m excited to grow it this summer in the back of my yard where the sun blazes for hours. Cooking Light has some amazing recipes using this particular squash variety. The nutritional value alone should be enough to get anyone interested in it. One cup of patty pan squash is loaded with 43% of your daily Vitamin C requirement, 5 grams of fiber, and no cholesterol. Boom. All that for only 38 calories…

They look like pumpkin seeds, don’t you think? But they aren’t. Continue Reading

Craft: Seed Packet Party Favor

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We southern girls are all about the party favor, am I right? The way I see it, if people will go to the trouble of coming to one of my book signings, they won’t be leaving empty handed. So in keeping with the whole GraceGritsGarden theme, I’ve been making seed packets for my next book signing in Little Rock. If you live in the area, I hope you’ll plan to join me at WordsWorth Books on Saturday, April 2 from 3:00 – 4:30. And if you do, you’ll leave with one of these little seed packets.

making seed packets

CuteCuteCute, if I do say so.Continue Reading

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